Malawi - Mukundi Orphan Care
When the Lord whispered to Liz Banda, wife of the Education Secretary of Bandawe area, in 2004 to set up an orphan care centre to ensure that the boys and girls who frequented the lake shore were being kept in a safe environment, she took in 40 orphans. As there were hundreds of children with no one to call their own this was a drop in the ocean. However the ever resourceful Liz began by finding foster homes for the children and establishing a centre where these children could come to be fed and clothed. In addition, over the next few years, she set up training programmes where the children could learn skills such as tailoring, woodworking, tinsmithing, farming and animal husbandry to name but a few. With the profits now being realised from this work she was able to educate older students as secondary education is fee paying in Malawi.
The team from Ayr Presbytery realised the importance of this work on their first
visit in 2006. Funds were sent to help with tutors’ salaries and tools and
sewing machines, along with clothes were sent via the containers. In the
following years rocket stoves were donated and electricity was installed due to
the generosity of the people in Ayr presbytery and beyond.
At the beginning of 2008 Monkton and Prestwick North Church were given a
substantial donation by a consortium of businessmen to help with the further
development of Mukundi Orphan Care Centre. After much discussion and planning
the ‘LIZ BANDA PROJECT’ was born. This entailed Liz setting up a training scheme
for people from 5 villages so that they in turn could set up their home based
orphan care programmes. To date several hundred more children have been helped
and we envisage that this could be extended to many thousands as the five
villages should be able to set up training centres. The Malawian national press
reported the following on this project: “With support from volunteers from
villages around it, the orphanage has constructed two fish ponds, keeps at
intervals 200 broiler chickens and pigs apart from intensive dimba [vegetable
gardens] cultivation that provides vegetables and maize for domestic use and for
sale. Liz Banda stated ’We decided as a committee that 10 orphans from five
villages should be given pigs one at a time. When the pigs have reproduced the
piglets are left with the orphan while big ones are taken back and given to
other orphans. The essence of the programme was to empower the vulnerable
children with something that will generate some money for them which will keep
them going in life’. Most orphans are benefiting from this because they are able
to find some money to buy basic things like sugar, soap and clothes.”
Everything that is being done by Mukundi Orphan Care Centre with the assistance
of Ayr Presbytery is designed to enable the people in Malawi to become more
self-sufficient. If you would like to see more young people being trained in
sustaining life skills, please send a donation to Monkton and Prestwick North
Church Malawi Fund, 10 Monkton Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 1AR. We will ensure
that all donations received will be used for this specific purpose. .